


A Damn Good Reason

by ssa_archivist



Category: Smallville
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst, Established Relationship, Futurefic, M/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2005-12-26
Updated: 2005-12-26
Packaged: 2017-11-01 09:18:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,162
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/354863
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ssa_archivist/pseuds/ssa_archivist
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After their move back to Metropolis, Clark's lies and prolonged absences create a rift in his relationship with Lex - one their marriage may not survive.  Another in the 'Alternate Universe' series of ficlets detailing the adventures of the Kent-Luthor family.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Damn Good Reason

## A Damn Good Reason

by Magdelena

<http://members.cox.net/magdelena1969>

* * *

_Summary_ : After their move back to Metropolis, Clark's lies and prolonged absences create a rift in his relationship with Lex - one their marriage may not survive. Another in the 'Alternate Universe' series of ficlets detailing the adventures of the Kent-Luthor children. 

_Disclaimer_ : I do not own any of the characters herein (only the plot). The characters of Clark Kent, Superman and Lex Luthor are the property of their creators and DC Comics. Smallville is owned by Gough/Millar Inc and the WB Network TV. I am publishing my fanfiction writings only for my own selfish desire to be a part of their world and receive nothing in return. 

_Author's Note_ : Spoilers all the way through Season Four, but selective use of Smallville and DC Comics canon. So pretty much, yeah, it's AU. Thanks to Sev1970 for betaing for me. 

* * *

Clark's eyes widened as he entered the house. His gaze swept around the usually immaculate room, amazed to find toys and clothes strewn everywhere. 

"Lex, is everything all right?" he called out, closing the door behind him, and heading immediately toward the den. He walked into the room to find Lex angrily snatching things up, apparently dividing them into piles to be taken to each child's room at some later point in time. 

"Does it look all right?" Lex answered tightly. "Where the HELL have you been?" 

Clark's eyes shifted guiltily around the room, refusing to meet Lex's. "Um... there was a mudslide..." 

Lex didn't even give him a chance to finish. "Well, there's been a tornado here for the last eight hours or so. I can't do this anymore. I want out." 

"Lex, you can't mean that," Clark pleaded, licking his lips nervously. 

"I can, and I do," Lex responded stonily, his gaze cold and his voice devoid of emotion. "I was insane to move back to Metropolis. I didn't realize how much I relied on your mother and father. I can't handle this family by myself," he said, his lips curling in a disgusted sneer, "and it's obvious that you don't plan to help me any time soon." 

"Maybe we can hire..." 

"Hire a housekeeper? We already have one. She had this place spotless when she left this morning. Hire a cook? Got one of those too. The dynamic duo started on the kitchen right after she left while I was changing Kenny. Or maybe you're suggesting we hire a nanny?" Lex asked incredulously, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "Like who? I have kids zooming around here tossing around furniture for fun so fast I can't even see them." 

Clark blanched, eager to find a solution, his heart racing at the thought of possibly losing Lex forever. He leaned to pick up a few of the scattered toys. "They're just acting out," he offered weakly. "They miss Smallville, they're in a new school, and they're having a tough time adjusting to having your time taken up by the new baby." 

Lex plucked the toys out of Clark's hands, and unceremoniously dropped them back to the floor. "Don't you dare fucking blame this on me!" Lex spat out. "Because _me_ spending time with them is not the problem. It's you, Clark. You're never here." Lex visibly shook with anger as he stalked away from Clark to stare out the window. "Since we've been back we've spent maybe one evening together, and that is completely and wholly unacceptable. It's even worse than it was since before we moved to Smallville. From the day we moved back here, you're either constantly at the paper, the watchtower, or God only knows where." Lex leaned his forehead against the glass, closing his eyes, and blowing out a breath, his anger suddenly deflating. His voice, when he spoke again, was thick with sadness and strain. "I'm sick of coming in last, Clark. I know you have a fucking destiny, but goddamn it, I was supposed to be part of it," he finished softly. 

"Lex, I..." 

Squaring his shoulders, Lex turned back toward his husband. "Don't, Clark. Don't say anything. The fact that you couldn't look me in the eye when you walked in here with your lame excuses said more than you ever could." 

The silence stretched between them for several long moments before a soft, feminine voice rang out from the doorway to the hall. 

"Papa? Is everything okay?" 

Lex swallowed, turning to his daughter, and offering her a small smile. "Go back to bed, Princess." 

"But you were yelling at Daddy. You never yell at each other. Please don't go away," Kendall pleaded. 

Lex glared at Clark before turning and striding toward where his daughter stood nervously in her nightgown, shifting from foot to foot. He was not surprised to see Conner shyly peeking out from behind his sister. 

He leaned down and touched her cheek gently, wiping away a tear. "Princess, Papa is tired, and quite frankly, you and your brother haven't helped. You and Conner have both been playing on Papa's weaknesses for the last week, and it's not fair to any of us. But know that you are the most important people in my life. Papa will never leave you three." 

Clark gasped from behind Lex, realizing immediately the significance of Lex's words. For the first time, Lex was referring to their family without including him in the equation. Before he could even think of anything to say though in reply, Conner piped up suddenly, his voice desolate. 

"It was all her idea," came his tiny voice, obviously snuffling back tears as he stepped from behind his sister. "She said it would help us. We didn't mean to make you madder." 

Lex's voice softened as he dropped to the floor, sitting cross-legged in front of their children. "What idea?" 

Kendall's lower lip quivered and she took a deep shuddering breath before she raised tear-filled eyes to meet Lex's. "I told Conner that if we practiced our abilities that maybe we could get good enough to help Daddy. He's not as fast as me yet, so I thought if I coached him... That way Daddy could be home quicker, and you wouldn't be so mad at him all the time." 

"You what?" Clark questioned quietly, kneeling at Lex's side. 

"We're sorry. We'll do better," Kendall begged, her voice growing frantic as both children launched themselves into Lex's arms. "We'll do anything. We'll take care of the baby. We won't mess up the house anymore. Just don't leave, Papa. Please." 

Clark answered before Lex could, wrapping one strong arm around his children as the other encircled Lex's back. He couldn't miss the barely perceptible stiffening of Lex's shoulders in response to his touch. Choosing to ignore Lex's reaction for the moment though, Clark cleared his throat, and blinked back his own tears, addressing his daughter's very real fears as strongly as he could. 

"Papa's not going anywhere, honey. Not if I can help it. You two go back to bed. I need to clear up a few things with your Papa, and then he and I will be in there in a few minutes to tuck you both in." Clark met Lex's gaze, and the ache in his chest eased minutely when Lex nodded slightly, agreeing to give Clark a chance to explain himself. Clark then turned to the still-sniffling children. "And starting right now, no more practicing. Your help is needed right here helping to take care of this family, not in fighting crime in Metropolis. I know you wanted to help, but you made it harder on Papa, not easier." 

"I know. We didn't mean to." 

Lex nodded sadly. "I know that, and I appreciate the fact that you were trying to help us. But this is not your problem. It's up to me and Daddy to fix, okay? Go on to bed. We'll be there in a few minutes." 

Both children shuffled off hand-in-hand, looking back over their shoulders a few times anxiously before finally turning down the halls to their rooms. As soon as they were out of sight, Lex stiffened, shrugging off Clark's arm, which was still wrapped around his back. 

"I'm going to call Bruce and have him take me off patrol tonight," Clark stated sadly, the pain of Lex recoiling from him worse than a physical blow. "We'll tuck in the kids, and then you call Barbara and Chloe, or Dad. Go out and relax." 

Lex lay down on his back on the floor and threw an arm over his eyes. His voice was low, almost defeated as he addressed Clark. "So, that's your solution? Give me a token night off? That's going to solve all of our problems? That's going to stop you from cheating on me?" 

"What?" Clark whispered brokenly, the tears he had been able to hold back so far now streaming down his face. 

"You're fucking lying to me," Lex stated matter-of-factly. "You've been lying since the moment you walked through the door. There was no mudslide. Your JLA communicator has been in your drawer all night. Who have you been with, Clark? Or is it even you? Maybe it's 'Superman' finally giving in to Lois Lane's charms?" 

"Lex, I'm not sleeping with Lois," Clark answered honestly, realizing finally exactly why Lex had felt so betrayed. Lex merely uncovered his face and raised an eyebrow. 

"Fine, so Superman's fucking her then." 

Clark chuckled derisively. "No, he is not. They're both ME, remember? And in case you forgot, we're 'both' in love with you." 

"That's funny, because the Clark Kent I fell in love with would never have treated his family this way." 

Clark opened his mouth to respond when suddenly his cell phone rang shrilly. He immediately removed it from his pocket and looked down at the caller ID, hope flickering inside of him that this horrible night might just be salvageable as he recognized the caller's number. He looked up at Lex apologetically. "I've got to answer..." 

Lex's eyes grew steely cold, and a disgusted sneer curled his lips. "Don't let me stop you. You obviously haven't been listening to a thing I've said." 

Lex stood quickly, and moved to leave the room, but instantly Clark sped in front of him, blocking his path. 

"Don't you fucking dare," Lex warned. "You promised me never to use your powers against..." 

The phone continued to ring in Clark's hand as Clark blocked Lex's path. "And you always promised to trust me." Clark's eyes met Lex's stony gaze pleadingly. "I'm far from perfect, but I think I've earned that trust through the years we've been together. Just give me the benefit of the doubt for one more minute. Please. This is possibly the most important phone call I've ever had." 

"More important than us?" Lex questioned angrily. 

"No, and that's why I've got to answer." Clark flipped open the phone, his eyes never leaving Lex's. "Pete? You'd better be calling with good news. I could really use some right now." He paused to listen to his friend, some of the tension leaving his shoulders. "When is the official announcement? Excellent, we'll be there. Thanks for everything, Pete. You're a great friend." Clark grinned for a moment, before quickly sobering as Lex's eyes narrowed and he crossed his arms rigidly over his chest. "Yeah, you'll have a front row seat. Let's just hope that I have something to invite you to after tonight." 

Lex started speaking the second that Clark flipped the phone shut. "This had better be good, Kent. Because this is your last shot. I'm so fucking pissed off right now," he hissed, keeping his voice low so the children couldn't overhear them fighting, "that I swear I'm ready to walk out of that door and never come back. The only thing that's holding me back is those three precious kids in there, and the fact that you've never fucked up this badly before," Lex admitted grudgingly as he sank down onto the sofa, "not to mention the fact that I'm too fucking hurt to even consider how to act. You've got five minutes." 

Clark sighed in relief, and sat gingerly on the coffee table directly in front of Lex, coming directly to the point. "Clark Kent and Superman were both called to testify before a special closed session of the Kansas state congress." 

Obviously not expecting that pronouncement, Lex looked up at Clark, meeting his gaze questioningly. "What? Why?" 

"As of ten minutes ago, same sex marriage is legal in the state of Kansas." 

"It's... what?" 

"Pete and I were talking after he got back from his honeymoon about how unfair it is that we've been together for so long and we don't have the same rights and benefits as other married couples. It's fine for us, because with your money and influence we're able to provide our family with everything they need. What about other couples like us though?" Clark moved off the coffee table, kneeling in front of Lex, tentatively reaching out a hand to Lex's knee. He breathed a sigh of relief when Lex didn't immediately brush away his hand. "So Pete suggested that perhaps his first act as our state senator should be to propose a same sex marriage bill in the special session." 

"Pete did that, for you?" 

"Not for me, Lex. For us." Lex's eyes slid shut, and a single tear tracked down his face. His shoulders visibly slumped in relief, and Clark couldn't help but lift a hand to Lex's cheek to sweep away the tear. He nearly sobbed when Lex turned to brush a tender kiss against his palm. Emboldened by Lex's actions, Clark continued to speak. "I have the tape of his speech. You have to hear it. He was brilliant. He talked about how jealous he had been over the years, watching us together, knowing even before we did that the kind of love we had was something so precious and hard to find. He said that's how he knew that he was in love with Lana - when he caught himself looking at her the way we look at each other. He called us a model for what people think of as a stable, happy family." Clark sighed. "Good thing he didn't see us tonight, huh?" 

Lex's only answer was to spread his legs and reach out to wrap his arms around Clark, gathering the younger man in tightly against his body, and bringing Clark's head down to rest against his chest. "And he called you to testify..." Lex prodded, even as he gently stroked his fingers through Clark's hair. 

Clark melted under Lex's touch, his own arms wrapping around Lex's back, clutching onto Lex like a lifeline. "Yeah, he called me, as Clark, to elucidate what things we were missing out on by not being legally married, and he also called Superman, who encouraged the members to consider that on his home planet, love between two people, regardless of their gender, was encouraged to foster and grow, not to be bound by outdated laws and societal mores." 

"And the bill passed into law?" 

Clark lifted his head so that he could meet Lex's gaze. "Unanimously, and it was signed off by the governor tonight." 

"Clark, I..." 

"Which brings me to the second reason I've been gone so much." Clark grudgingly moved away slightly, reaching down into his pants pocket and withdrawing a small velvet pouch, and dumping the contents into Lex's hand. 

Lex gasped when he took in the two identical titanium bands. Kryptonian symbols were etched into the surface of the rings, and each held a multifaceted diamond which had five additional symbols etched onto its surface. "Clark, they're gorgeous." 

"And very time-consuming to make. Lara guided me through the process. Apparently, usually these rings are forged when the couple is first betrothed, with different stones and carvings added when the couple is married and for each child born. They aren't presented though until the family is complete, and the couple decides to cease childbearing. Some of the materials weren't exactly easily available on Earth, so I had to make a few off-world trips. The bands are forged from the same material that my ship was made of. Lara was able to locate a deposit of it on Pluto's moon. The stones, though they appear to be diamonds, are actually white sun crystals. They were a bit tougher to find since I had to visit a solar system with a white dwarf star. Then the rings could only be forged deep in the earth's core." Clark allowed himself a small smile as he watched Lex lovingly trace his fingertip over the symbols. "Those were the easy part - just had to use a focusing device with my heat vision." 

Lex continued to just stare at the bands, increasing Clark's anxiety, and causing him to stammer out a babbling apology for his recent absences. "I'm sorry I had to hide all of this from you. I never expected the kids to... And I didn't even consider that you would think I was cheating on you. God, how could you ever think I'd need anyone else when I have you? I know you've been upset about me being away so much, but I really wanted to surprise you with this for our anniversary, and then when I thought that we could really use them as wedding rings if the bill passed... Not that the rings we already have aren't beautiful enough..." Clark sucked in a shuddering breath, anxious over how quiet Lex was being. "I guess you've given me the benefit of the doubt one too many times, though. I'm just so sorry, I..." 

Lex's fingertips came up to press against Clark's lips, silencing him. Clark looked up to find himself the recipient of one of Lex Luthor's brilliant smiles - the ones that were reserved just for him and their children. "Ask me, Clark. Just shut up and ask me." 

Clark's squared his shoulders and an answering smile spread over his own face. He addressed Lex formally, in the words of the traditional proposal Lara had provided for him. "Alexander Joseph Luthor-El will you do me the distinct honor of joining with me in both the ancient rites of the Kryptonian race by spiritually bonding with me, and the rites of your home planet by legally joining your life with mine in the holy state of matrimony?" 

Lex chuckled even as joyful tears slipped down his cheeks. "That was quite a mouthful. Will a simple 'yes' do?" 

"Yeah, it'll more than do," Clark answered as he crushed his lips over Lex's, claiming the mouth of the man who would one day soon legally be his husband even under the eyes of Kansas state law. 

They still had a house to clean, and kids to reassure, and love to make, but as far as reconciliations went, it was off to a very good start. 


End file.
